We Can't Wait #1: The Tree of Life

Nathaniel: And so we come to the top film in our List O' Impatience called "We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond" There's still neither trailer nor official stills. With Malick, you always have to wait. Even when you feel you can't.

The Tree of Life
Directed by Terrence Malick
Starring Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and Fiona Shaw (in the 1950s) Sean Penn and Joanna Going (in present day)
Synopsis (don't read if you don't wanna know the very basic template) Malick has described the film as a "mystical epic". There's rumored to be a section of the film about prehistoric Earth. But most of what we know is that it's a story in two main parts. First, a story about the eldest boy in a young family in the 1950s (Brad Pitt is the father) and the loss of innocence. The second part is about the boy as a disillusioned adult man (Sean Penn)
Brought to you Apparition. That's Bob Berney's new distribution company that is obviously thinking Quality + Oscar. Last year they brought us Bright Star and The Young Victoria and this year the fine Aussie noir The Square and the rock bio The Runaways.
Expected Release Date god only knows. It's Malick.

As much as I am eager to see this, I can wait until Malick is finished. I feel we could have avoided all that New World confusion if awards season hadn't rushed that film into strangely blink-and-miss multiple versions.

Robert: At this point I think I'd just be happy if The Tree of Life is finished in my lifetime. I don't begrudge Malick his slow work style (after all it results in masterpieces) but my anticipation is turning into impatience. I blame the sexy allure of the unknown. Think about it. Malick's last movie was based on a historical story we were all familiar with. The one before that was based (albeit loosely) on a book. But this is the first time in over thirty years we've really had no idea what he's cooking up.

Colin Farrell in The New World (2005)

I can't imagine the distribution will be as botched as it was with The New World. This has to be poised as the big Oscar contender of the year. I can even recall reading that Malick was prepared to get less elusive and campaign (though that has yet to be seen).

Is it me or are there an unusual number of mysterious movies coming out this year?

Nathaniel: It's not just you. But none are as mysterious as this. Even when Malick's movies are based on true familiar stories they feel somewhat ethereal.That's the wrong word. Otherworldly. Otherwordly it is. New Worlds. I assume Malick has to be the alpha and omega of why we're all interested in this one. So anyone care to share when they first fell for Malick's work and why?

Jose: I was twelve when I saw The Thin Red Line, it was my first Malick and I couldn't make sense of a single thing other than the fact that it was so green. That's all I remember from it now actually: leaves and soldiers.

<-- Jim Caviezel in The Thin Red Line (1998)

I figured it all out almost a decade later when I took on the task of watching all of Malick's films (it's not that big a filmography I know) and saw how nature was such a predominant part of his work. I think I fell in love with it when I saw the performances he got out of Sam Shepard in Days of Heaven and especially Q'Orianka Kilcher in The New World. The way their characters are at complete balance between the natural and the ethereal is breathtaking.

Craig: I really like that I don't know a great deal about this one, and indeed many of the more attention-worthy films coming out later in the year. But this adds to that Malick allure, as you say Robert. There were two recent films - one late last year (Where the Wild Things Are); one earlier this year (Shutter island) - where I successfully managed to avoid anything and everything said about them. I wanted to keep it all a surprise. And it worked well; I enjoyed both completely spoiler-free.There have been certain films in the past where I'll read as much as possible, and the hype I build for myself for them doesn't always pan out. I don't think we'll get a great amount of pre-release information on Tree of Life either. And I've found this works particularly well with Malick's stuff. Because he doesn't make too many films in any given decade, this is all kind of in keeping with his secrecy and mystique. This basic plot premise (which I did read - I slap my own wrists!) does sound really allusive and more than a bit oblique, which leads me to think that his themes will be broad as hell and all-encompassing. As he gets older is he grasping for those ever more grand subject matters?

The first Malick film I saw was his second (or third if you count the short Lanton Mills): Days of Heaven. I liked the look and feel, and the music struck me as nice, but I was really too young to actually grasp what it was really all about. Then I saw Badlands (ace), and his others over time, and now I've since re-watched Heaven again (several times now). Although I like to think I have a better grasp of its mood, climate and sense of evaporating time (and the music is still next to godliness), I still, gladly, can't fully comprehend why it's so evocative. It's probably my favourite of his still. Richard Gere hasn't been better; Brooke Adams and Linda Manz were just so perfectly cast; and although it's been commented on to the nth degree - and is a rather shopworn phrase now - but all that 'magic hour' photography is just as fresh and spellbinding today - it's just so easy on the eye!

Days of Heaven (1978)

Days of Heaven feels kinda unfinished, unresolved in a way, too. One of the main things I love about it is that, even though the film technically ends, it's easy to believe that the story continues and resonates beyond that point. So I guess it's a 'first love' situation with Days. I love me some Malick - bring on the Tree!

JA: I can't remember if it was Badlands or Days of Heaven that caused me to fall for Malick, but getting to see Badlands on a big screen a couple years ago cemented my impression that when it comes to Malick, the bigger the better. Somehow I missed The New World in theaters - I don't know how that happened, but they did mess up that movie's release something bad - but seeing Badlands splashed across a giant screen made me realize what I've been missing watching them on little TV boxes.

<--- Sissy Spacek in Badlands (1973)

So, not knowing much about the plot, that alone is what's got me enthusiastic here - the chance to spy his visuals once again in epic scope. And that there might be an IMAX companion-piece is only further blowing my mind. I fully intend to die in the theater from too much damn beauty, and I can't imagine a better way to go.

Nathaniel: I hope you live but I heartily second the sentiment.

And on that breathtaking note, readers, we conclude this year's We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond series. Hope you enjoyed. Tell us about your first Malick experience. If you haven't had one, get to it soon before this movie appears.

"We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond" complete series: The "orphan" picks Nathaniel (Burlesque), JA (Love and Other Drugs), Jose (You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), Craig (What's Wrong With Virginia?), Robert (True Grit) and Dave (Brighton Rock); Team Film Experience Countdown #12 It's Kind of a Funny Story, #11 Sex & the City 2, #10 Scott Pilgrim vs the World, #9 Somewhere, #8 The Kids Are All Right, #7 The Illusionist, #6 Toy Story 3, #5 Inception, #4 Rabbit Hole, #3 Never Let Me Go, #2 Black Swan and #1 The Tree of Life.

We Can't Wait #2: BLACK SWAN

The team here with the penultimate We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond entry.

Black Swan
Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Winona Ryder, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Sebastian Stan

Aronofsky and Portman on set in NY

Synopsis: a Black Swan dons The Red Shoes... or: a New York-set psychological drama about a veteran ballerina Nina (Portman), who has just won the lead part in Swan Lake, and her fierce competition with new rival Lilly (Kunis) - but Nina goes into downward spiral: is Lilly real or just a figment of her imagination?

Brought to you by: Luke Skywalker's & Spock's moms, Meg Griffin, Gossip Boy Carter, Mickey Rourke's wrestling coach, and a feathered wave of expectation. Oh, and a variety of production folk.

Expected release date: late 2010 - or early 2011 (the gals practiced hard - it should be worth the wait)

Craig: The buzz on this one is fast heating up and will surely build further as more details surface. Although from Thursday's Cannes announcement it appears that it doesn't feature in this year's line-up, in-competition or otherwise (a low blow for Aronofsky after his success with The Wrestler?) - a decision that may well be roundly cheered/booed in equal measure by his hardcore devotees and vehement detractors respectively. I don't know, it always feels as if Aronofsky's films simply attract fierce comment just by the fact that it's him - he pushes people's buttons in extreme ways it seems. He's one of those came-to-prominence-in-the-early-'90s directors, like Tarantino, Fincher, Wes Anderson etc, that some folk seem to love to hate and hate to love. But each of his films, so far, has had a truly distinctive and widely changeable feel to them. But I'm guessing the bigger draw will be seeing Portman take another step on the road to more adult and complex roles, and her pairing up with Kunis. Ballet is shaping up to be the cinematic in-thing this year - who knew? Is it partly due to Cate Blanchett going all plié-happy for Benjamin Button last year? So guys, does Natalie and Mila doing a Pas de deux look like a career swan dive or time for take off? I'm hoping for Fight Club meets Suspiria...

Nathaniel: I can't even imagine Fight Club fused with Suspiria.

But I guess I love any film project by a big time visionary director that one can add a semi-colon and a 'girls gone wild' to. Black Swan: Girls Gone Wild. Yes? I actually don't mean that sarcastically, just psychologically. I love films about unravelling psyches and each of Aronofsky's films have been quite adept at conjuring vivid protagonists at the end of their ropes.

I actually don't want to know more about this one than I already do. I'm just dying to see how Aronofsky uses all of the actresses. Interesting cast.

Left: Portman Swanning about the set

Jason: Since I don't think David Gordon Green's remake of Suspiria is gonna happen - one remake of a movie I adore that seemed so insane as to seem can't-miss from inception - especially since it was supposed to star Portman and I can't see her doing back-to-back ballet films, I guess I'll just get my fix here. I really do like Natalie Portman, but more off-screen than on. I keep hoping she can channel what makes her seem like an interesting person in the real world that one would want to hang out with into a movie. This might not be the movie for that, exactly, but I root for her, is my point.

What this might be a movie for, I think, is... well, up in the air like a series of changements (That's apparently a type of jump in ballet! I looked it up. Consider this your lesson for the day, if it's new to you like it was for me). But whatever weirdness Aronofsky's got in store for us - and the weirder the film keeps sounding, the more excited I grow - I just know that I have loved every single frame of film that he's shot, and I will gobble each new one up insatiably.

Also, hot lesbian sex.

Jose: I wasn't a fan of Aronofsky until The Wrestler, which technically didn't make me a fan but showed me he can be visionary without being full of himself (like he was in all his previous films). If he manages to be as visually inventive and emotionally smart as he was in that movie, we're in for something great here. Then again I will approach Black Swan with care because he might fall back into extreme self indulgence. But I'm sure it's not easy to spoil something with that cast (Hershey, Ryder and Cassel together sound orgasmic) and I'm dying to see Portman release her inner nut (even in Closer she was too restrained), I'm hoping she shows us that going insane while wearing a tutu is the most fun a girl can have with her clothes on.

Craig: Girls Gone Wild! Hot lesbian sex! This sounds like it could be Aronofsky's entry into the new wave of exploitation flicks. Forget Grindhouse - this is DanceHaus! (Something tells me Lady GaGa might dig this film). But if this turns out to be Haute tension in ballet shoes or Mulholland Dr. with LA's Hollywood of broken dreams changed for NY's ballet stage of high hopes then I'll be happy. Of course, I may have expectations for this that may well never materialise... and Jason, that'll be all-round bad news if Suspiria mark 2 doesn't get the go ahead. Ya wait for one bleak ballet-themed film to come along... could two at once be one too many?

I'm definitely angling for Aronofsky to return to the visual grittiness of Pi and Requiem for a Dream for this, more so than the golden-hued fantasyland of The Fountain. Aronofsky certainly seems to be delving into psychological and (hopefully) Gothic waters with his subject matter here, unless I'm reading the buzz all wrong, which may be the case. I mean, he's even cast a formidable quartet of raven-haired ladies in it.

Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky

Robert: Between this and The Kids are All Right, lesbians could be the theme for 2010. Hell, this could single-handedly save the movie industry. Forget 3D!

I admit that despite usually disliking overly bombastic films, I'm a maniacally proud Aronofsky fanboy. I'm glad that after the low key-ness of The Wrestler, people haven't forgotten that he's a real visual artist and I'm looking forward to whatever inventiveness he has in store for us with this one. Really, I'm giddy, especially after hearing one supposed insider describe it as "The Red Shoes meets Repulsion." (Suspiria meets Fight Club also good!) The aggressive lesbian ballerina sex is clearly what's gotten most of the attention so far and I'm not one to argue. I think if any other film were hyping up the girl-on-girl this much, I'd roll my eyes in annoyance. But in this case, whatever get's the asses in the seats and raises Mr. Aronofsky's profile. I'll be buying my ticket based on my love for Darren. The hot lesbian action will just be a bonus (though as I have 'Nam-like flashbacks to Requiem for a Dream, I wonder if we may be overestimating the eroticness of it all).

Dave: The Red Shoes instantly comes to my mind when thinking of deranged ballerinas; not that I want this to be a film they might as well have called 'The Black Shoes', I'm sure Aronofsky has something a bit different up his sleeves. (Not least the hot lesbian sex.) My mother is a ballet obsessive, so I grew up surrounded by images of ruffled tutus and pink ballet shoes round every corner. So to an extent I suppose I hope that Black Swan will unpack my childhood and reveal all the dirt and kinkiness I was too young to see. Swan Lake is the obvious reference point here, so I'm intrigued by just how strongly that story will work into what's hopefully a sea of psychological perversity.

The cast fascinates me. I look at it and it seems like such a strange collection of people; but I can see it working so, so gloriously. It seems like a cast that, for one reason or another, haven't really 'delivered' in a while, but Aronofsky showed last time around how he can boost any flagging career. Oh, and for giving Mila Kunis her first (hopefully) plum role - Darren, I salute you.

Craig: Clint Mansell is again doing the score for Aronofsky and apparently he's integrating some of the musical themes from Swan Lake into it. Music has always played a really integral part in Aronofsky's films and this has the possibility to make for their most intriguing collaboration yet. Imagine that cascading, ominous score for Requiem being woven into Swan Lake - it could be fierce...

So, who wants to see Portman pirouette into personality-shifting oblivion, or who wants to see her give Kunis the kiss-off?

"We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond" complete series: The "orphan" picks Nathaniel (Burlesque), JA (Love and Other Drugs), Jose (You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), Craig (What's Wrong With Virginia?), Robert (True Grit) and Dave (Brighton Rock); Team Film Experience Countdown #12 It's Kind of a Funny Story, #11 Sex & the City 2, #10 Scott Pilgrim vs the World, #9 Somewhere, #8 The Kids Are All Right, #7 The Illusionist, #6 Toy Story 3, #5 Inception, #4 Rabbit Hole, #3 Never Let Me Go, #2 Black Swan and #1 The Tree of Life.

We Can't Wait: #3 NEVER LET ME GO

The We Can't Wait series nears it's end with an adaptation of a book about events shrouded in mystery; just like the film itself...

Never Let Me Go
Directed by: Mark Romanek
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield, Sally Hawkins, Charlotte Rampling, Andrea Riseborough

Synopsis: A woman reflects on her mysterious years at a private boarding school as she reunites with two friends scarred by those days.
Brought to you by: Film4 and Fox Searchlight Pictures
Expected release date: TBA

Dave: In a moment of unintentional foresight, I actually read 'Never Let Me Go' before I knew anything about it being turned into a film; it's a superb book, taking the reader to surprising, uncomfortable and devastating places, with a sci-fi aspect that never really registers as such because it's treated in so downtrodden and normalised a way. I'm not sure I thought it was a particularly cinematic novel but I also don't see why it can't work; the prose is fairly straightforward, so all that really needs doing is retaining the gripping way the mystery of the whole thing unfolds. I'm intrigued to see what Mark Romanek does visually; One Hour Photo was a solid enough film but I'd hope for at least a little bit of an infusion of his music video days, at least to liven up what could be a rote imagining of the boarding school of the first third.

But let's not fool ourselves; it's the cast here that we're all getting glinty eyes over. It might be Carey Mulligan's first big project post-breakthrough, but my eye goes straight to Andrew Garfield on the credits; although between this, Red Riding and his blindingly good performance in Boy A it's a wonder the boy can crack a smile any more. Then there's people like Keira Knightley and Charlotte Rampling hanging around too. A possible acting masterclass? Is Romanek the man to really coax greatness out of these actors?

JA: If he could coax greatness out of Robin Williams - and I think he was pretty dang great in OHP - I don't foresee him having much trouble with these lovely folks here, Dave.

I'm about as much in love with Ishiguro's book as I am with anything written in the past ten years though, so I ought to be terrified about an adaptation. But I ain't. I ain't at all! Mulligan, Garfield, Rampling, Sally Hawkins, Andrea Riseborough - just saw her on stage with Hugh Dancy and Ben Whishaw a couple of months ago in The Pride and she's become a pet project of mine to trumpet her name whenever given the chance, and she's got a good role here as Miss Lucy - and begrudgingly Knightley, who I loved in Pride & Prejudice and... I'll leave it at that.

Craig: Yes, the cast. I'm excited to see Rampling, Garfield and Hawkins here - and Mulligan has shown she can do boarding school cool already. Although with the exception of Keira Knightley, who hasn't completely convinced me in any film yet. But this one - along with her role in Cronenberg's new one - might see her expand a bit from the corsets and pirate girl area and she may surprise me. Though whenever they say Knightley, I say Rosamund Pike. She might have been a good choice here, though isn't she slightly older than the other two principle cast members? And would that matter? But yes, Jason, Andrea Riseborough - she was great in Happy-Go-Lucky (could she be the secret surprise here?).

Jose: Without knowing what the book was about, this film adaptation got my attention only by the cast (this could be the year of the great female ensembles). Keira, Carey and Sally all had wonderful breakthrough roles in the past decade and are some of the most fascinating actresses out there. I hope they will continue to prove their worth here, if not there's always the brilliance of Charlotte Rampling who can do no wrong.

Craig: Mark Romenek is such an interesting choice for director too. I'll echo the thoughts about One Hour Photo being quite the nifty film, and he's got the style factor sorted.

Jose: I'm sure Romanek will bring an interesting visual conception to the project; his One Hour Photo was clinically beautiful to watch and for a man who has confessed he wanted to become a director because of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the sci-fi angle of this tale sounds like bliss. I hope he gets inspired by his work on Madonna's Rain for this...

Keira, Carey and Andrew enjoying a moment off-camera; you can tell because they're smiling...

Craig: I never got to reading the book (mainly due to the ending being spoiled for me, darn it), so I feel I've missed out on a great piece of fiction here. I'll have to leap into this film version in the hope that it'll have a few surprises in store, which, by the sounds of it, it will have. I'm a sucker for downtempo sci-fi and everything all together does actually sound as if it could make for an extraordinary and fresh approach.

JA: I adore this book. If they can capture one tenth of the beauty and sadness therein, this will be something very very special to me.

Dave: There's a great weight of expectation there. I think that the fact, beyond the novel and the cast, this is another film we know very little about just makes the anticipation of it greater, because we just don't know. It's another film that looks so very promising on paper, but who can know if it will deliver? The fact that Fox Searchlight are on-board for American distribution suggests they've seen something of worth, though.

Are you excited, readers? Do you trust in Romanek, Carey and Keira? Or did you never want to let go of the book and let it up on that screen?

"We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond" complete series: The "orphan" picks Nathaniel (Burlesque), JA (Love and Other Drugs), Jose (You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), Craig (What's Wrong With Virginia?), Robert (True Grit) and Dave (Brighton Rock); Team Film Experience Countdown #12 It's Kind of a Funny Story, #11 Sex & the City 2, #10 Scott Pilgrim vs the World, #9 Somewhere, #8 The Kids Are All Right, #7 The Illusionist, #6 Toy Story 3, #5 Inception, #4 Rabbit Hole, #3 Never Let Me Go, #2 Black Swan and #1 The Tree of Life.

We Can't Wait: #4 RABBIT HOLE

Our We Can't Wait series continues as we discuss a film all of us want to see but know very little about...

Rabbit Hole
Directed by: John Cameron Mitchell
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Weist, Sandra Oh, Tammy Blanchard



Synopsis: Life for a happy couple (Kidman and Eckhart) is turned upside down after their young son dies in an accident.
Brought to you by: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Expected release date: TBA

Jose: Proving why she's the most constantly adventurous working actress, Nicole Kidman is back with one of her two big back to back projects (if The Danish Girl ever starts shooting of course...) which has her play a character that won Cynthia Nixon a Tony during the play's Broadway run.
Do you think this means Oscar attention for Nic or will it be her own Proof?

Craig: If truth be told, I would've actually liked to have seen Cynthia Nixon do it. I like Kidman (Margot! Birth!) but how much more of an interesting project would it have been had Nixon been given the role in the film. Of course, she's nowhere near as bankable as Kidman so it may never have been a consideration on the part of the film's backers or producers - and of course Kidman is one of the producers - but I'm keen to see Nixon really expose her drama chops on film in a big way. I really hope it's not a Proof for Kidman though - my fingers are crossed that that approach is avoided.

Robert: I don't think awards bait, and I don't thing big emotional weepie. I suppose someone more familiar with the play can fill me on whether the film should hit those marks.

David: My brain seems to have come up with a very limited way of seeing this film: if it starts racking up awards, I fear I'll hate it. It's as if I want it to fail miserably! But my favourite Kidman performances have always been the ones in her more challenging, offbeat movies - Dogville and Birth spring straight to mind, but I found more to appreciate in Fur than most seemed to - and it seems that the Kidman dramatics that I groove to are not the ones the awards bodies start weeping over.

Jason: ...Nicole, being sad. She's so wonderful at sad! Almost as wonderful as she is playing a bitch (Susanne Stone Moretto forever!), but since she seems to prefer the sad I'll take the sad.

Jose: I'm sure Kidman will be splendid but how excited are you about the rest of the cast?

Nathaniel: Even without JCM's strong vision behind the camera I would have been sold by the cast. Dianne Wiest takes over the grandmother role that Tyne Daley won acclaim for on Broadway and we can certainly always use more Wiest on the silver screen. I think she's one of the greatest living actresses and I'm eager to see her attack another meaty role onscreen.

David: Having Dianne Wiest in the cast boosts interest even higher - the movies have missed you, Dianne!

Jason: I didn't even know Dianne Wiest was in it! And that there jumps it up a couple of notches all on its own. She's spectacular. And Aaron Eckhart... I like to stare at Aaron Eckhart and his large strong hands. So all's good.


Will Eckhart's hands lend enough support to Kidman's sure to be devastating performance?

Jose: I'm also dying to see what Mitchell does with material that wasn't written by him; Shortbus and Hedwig were two of the most confrontational works of the '00s but they probably were very personal as well.

Robert: The wild card here is Mitchell. The "suburbanites in mourning" genre is one that's in danger of getting old fast, if it already hasn't. I don't know what he'll bring to the material, but I anticipate something unconventional. When I think John Cameron Mitchell I don't think mainstream. Here's hoping it does so while still maintaining that rebellious JCM touch.

Nathaniel: Mitchell should be able to work this visually into something far more expressive than just dour suburban drama. First of all there's the title metaphor and second, I believe the teenage character Jason (Miles Teller) is into drawing or comic books or some such (or am I creating a false memory?) and Mitchell has already promised a complete cinematic rendering so we might see animated flourishes? I'm guessing. He's used them in both of his other film to fine stylistic effect.

Jason: It really is all about JCM for me, working on material he didn't create - I don't have anything against his two previous films, mind you, I love both, but I'm curious to see what he does with something that seems on the surface so different.

Craig: Cameron Mitchell is such a solid talent, he's shown in Hedwig and Shortbus that he can spin from pathos to party in a heartbeat (and often do it in the same scene), but if this is an all-out drama I'd like to think he'll add something a bit more fresh to it to shake up the possible over-familiarity of the genre. From the very few stills I've seen, part of me does groan a little at the apparent heaviness of its heart-wrenching feel, but then I'm immediately perked up by the mere presence of Eckhart. But a still is a still - the movie itself could spark and fly off the handle!

David: I've only seen Shortbus but I'm afraid of his directorial identity being stripped by an awards hungry studio. He was a very interesting choice for Kidman to make, though, and I would trust that her as producer means she's made the choice for artistic reasons.

I know hardly anything about the source material, so I'm sure my head is imagining this all wrong, but I'd love a Lynchian vibe off this whole thing - a mess of dark emotions manifesting in weird and memorable imagery. I think it might just be the word "rabbit" though. The Rabbit Hole? Who knows what's down there.

Jose: With JCM's visuals and the polarizing reactions Kidman has been drawing from audiences and critics throughout the decade this at least is sure to be one of the year's most fascinating projects.

How about you readers, will you take the proverbial trip with them or is this something you'd never want to watch? Oh and did anyone who saw the play tell us a bit more about it? Do you think it'll translate well to the screen?

"We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond"
The "orphan" picks Nathaniel (Burlesque), JA (Love and Other Drugs), Jose (You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), Craig (What's Wrong With Virginia?), Robert (True Grit) and Dave (Brighton Rock); Team Film Experience Countdown #12 It's Kind of a Funny Story, #11 Sex & the City 2, #10 Scott Pilgrim vs the World, #9 Somewhere, #8 The Kids Are All Right, #7 The Illusionist, #6 Toy Story 3, #5 Inception, #4 Rabbit Hole, #3 Never Let Me Go, #2 Black Swan and #1 The Tree of Life.

We Can't Wait #5: INCEPTION

Robert here with JA and Dave, continuing the We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond discussion. Now we come to something of a mystery.

Inception

Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe, Michael Caine and Tom Hardy

Synopsis: An agent possesses the technology to enter people's minds, discovering their deepest secrets and using them for profit. But the mind is a dangerous place where reality is unstable. That's about all the info that the very secretive Nolan and his team are volunteering.
Brought to you by: Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros.
Expected release date: July 16, 2010

Robert: I can't imagine not being game for any new Nolan film (or DiCaprio film for that matter), but I wonder if the mystery surrounding this one is for the best? I feel like this might have been even higher on my list if I had a better grasp on what it was. All I know is that there's something to do with dreams and dream logic. This could go either way. Dream logic movies can give their directors free reign to create, unbound by reality. But they can also be a harbinger of unfettered anarchy. Still I trust Nolan. How about you guys? Any idea what we're in for?

Dave: I think the mystery is a smart move. For one, it's about the only thing Nolan - or perhaps rather Warner Bros. - could really do after The Dark Knight to even come close to generating the same kind of interest. He's become one of the biggest directors; treating it like just another film doesn't really make sense with him, at least not this soon. Of course, if it disappoints then the secrecy will look a bit stupid, but it's a risk they couldn't afford not to take.

For another, it fits with the feel I suspect the film itself has (going from Nolan's previous non-Batman films) - tricksy, illusive, misleading. I doubt very much that the little the trailer gives away will really translate to the film; it too is probably leading us up the wrong paths. The quote from Nolan about "gravitating towards the analogy of a maze" is really fitting for his general mindset. And I must say it's an approach that just makes me more excited. As long as all the pieces fit together in the end, there's really little I relish more than being played with by a labrynthine plot. You get me in that cinema, I am yours to do with as you wish, and not enough films take advantage of that.

What does worry me is the shift Nolan has been forced to make from the low-key cult status of Memento to the massive high profile he now has. The Prestige didn't really work for me as the plot seemed to become overwhelmed by the visual intricacies of the whole thing. The trailer and the newly released photos give me the same worries for Inception. The cast is very appealing - and I like that he's taking chances on young guys like Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy, as well as hopefully breaking Ellen Page out of the kooky indie girl box she'd got stuck in - but the whole playing with horizontals thing makes it seem like the look of the world we're in will take precedence over the feel of existing in it. And I'm more interested in the psychological aspect of whatever dream logic plot unfolds.

Robert: Yeah, the intricate plot puzzles that the film promises are right up Nolan's ally. They're what he does best. I must say I'm not too worried about Nolan's shift from cult to high profile as I suppose it was unavoidable. I'd rather the mood of the film suffer a bit (I liked The Prestige more than Dave methinks) at the hands of the visuals, than the film be completely devoid of any visual interest like Insomnia was.

On another note, I seem to be having trouble comprehending the reality this film without needing some prior film to compare it to. Right now my mind wants to categorize it as another Matrix, or Vanilla Sky, or something Lynchian. But more than anything I think it resembles a somewhat overlooked animated film from a few years back called Paprika, in which a policeman travels through a fantastical dream-reality. I wonder if anyone else sees the connection, or in general is thinking of this film a lot in terms of previous dream films.

JA: I totally get what you're going at with mentioning Paprika as seeming to occupy a similar story-space, Robert, but seeing as how I really didn't enjoy that movie I find no room in my enthusiasms for it here!

Anyway I fear I'm coming across as a total whore for nothing but names, names, names in this countdown, but then, I am, and this round-up of names is what's the bottom-line of my interest. Thankfully in my defense, as y'all have already made clear, it can't really be the story yet since we don't know the story! But the names! Besides Chris Nolan I'm really at a place where I will see any and everything that Joseph Gordon Levitt does until he convinces me not to, and I don't see that happening any time soon. Likewise, Ellen Page - I adore her. Likewise Marion Cotillard. And Tom Hardy's moving up up up the list. Leo... well he comes and goes in my estimations - loved him in The Departed, thought he was all over the map in Shutter Island (but then so was that whole movie) - but he's certainly no demerit.

And I like the middle-ground Nolan's straddling here, very much like The Prestige (I'm a big fan too, Robert), between his low-budget big-ideas beginnings and his giant-budget current standings. He puts a lot of razzle-dazzle up on the screen (and like most geeks I drooled over that shot of the city folding in on itself in Inception's trailer) but he doesn't short-change his ideas for them. Amid all the bang for the buck he got outta The Dark Knight I really felt a real romance with anarchy brewing there under its pretty surface. Plenty of that's thanks to Heath's efforts, of course, but Nolan knows how to let his actors add a disturbing flavor to the pot and make undermine any easy answers. Which I like. A lot.

This trailer is probably the most revealing thing we'll get. So is anyone else enjoying the mystery?

"We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond"
The "orphan" picks Nathaniel (Burlesque), JA (Love and Other Drugs), Jose (You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), Craig (What's Wrong With Virginia?), Robert (True Grit) and Dave (Brighton Rock); Team Film Experience Countdown #12 It's Kind of a Funny Story, #11 Sex & the City 2, #10 Scott Pilgrim vs the World, #9 Somewhere, #8 The Kids Are All Right, #7 The Illusionist, #6 Toy Story 3, #5 Inception, #4 Rabbit Hole, #3 Never Let Me Go, #2 Black Swan and #1 The Tree of Life.

We Can't Wait #6: TOY STORY 3

Robert here with JA and Dave, discussing what's sure to be the year's most anticipated threequel.

Toy Story 3

Directed by: Lee Unkrich
Starring: the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, Don Rickles, Whoopi Goldberg, Michael Keaton and John Ratzenberger

Synopsis: Everyone's favorite gang of toys finds their world turned upside down when their owner, the college-bound Andy dumps them in a day care.
Brought to you by: Disney/Pixar
Expected release date: June 18, 2010

Robert: Immediately that trailer gets me. I think it's the Randy Newman song that transports me back to the Toy Story world without missing a beat. I find myself joining in with the chorus of "Andy's going to college!" My how time has passed, Andy's going to college already (yes, that's me getting sentimental about a tertiary character in a movie from a decade ago). Yet there are plenty of reasons to be dubious. Lee Unkrich has never been the primary director of a Pixar film before. Michael Arndt has never written a Pixar movie before. Is it me or are there sure a lot of new characters? And part threes can often be problematic, especially when parts one and two are of such high quality. Then again, we don't anticipate the film starting with a machine gun-packing helicopter assassination attempt on Buzz Lightyear, so we might be okay.

But clearly the excitement outweighs whatever concerns we might have. So let me ask this (in addition to why is it among your most anticipated?): What are you hoping this film adds to the story of Woody, Buzz, and the gang?

JA: I was standing in the lobby of a movie theater last weekend where on one of the TVs they were playing the Toy Story 3 trailer and I realized I hadn't even seen it yet. I spend all day poring over these sorts of things, and yet here was the trailer for a movie I'm dying to see and not only had I not watched it yet, I didn't really feel any need to watch it then, nor do I feel the need to rush over and watch it now.

And yet, I really do want to see this movie something desperate. Pixar's just gained such a level of trust from me - give or take a wobbly final third of Up - that I'm essentially a zombie for them. I'll just be there opening weekend, wide-eyed with enthusiasm, happy to spend another 90 minutes with these wonderful, rich characters. Where ever they want to take me, I feel safe that it's somewhere I wanna go.

Dave: You forget, Robert, that Toy Story 2 opened with something not unlike what you just described. (Something, I must say, that has somehow never failed to take me in completely; I feel such a fool when that 'Game Over' screen pops up!)

I think the key thing for me here is how long it's been since Toy Story 2. If they'd made Toy Story 3 back in, say, 2003, it may well have been subpar because they'd really explored all aspects of the "toy experience" there were at that point... without reaching for absurdity, that is. But letting both audience and characters grow for eleven years opens up a number of new possibilities. You could argue that they already perfectly encapsulated the "child grows up and leaves toys behind" idea in that devastating, Sarah McLachlan-soundtracked four minutes about poor Jessie, but thankfully they seem to be going for a slightly different angle here. Even if Andy really caring so much about his childhood toys seems a bit unlikely; but then, don't we all still care about them all? We are Andy and we're all going to queue up to get our beloved toys back.

Pixar have actually been going slightly downhill for me lately (this is where half the readership gasps in shock and disregards every word I write from now on, isn't it?), but they've not disappointed me enough as yet to make it so that I'm not going to be sitting eagerly slap-bang in the middle of the theatre at the earliest opportunity. It should be very interesting; I know Pixar movies always have a big mixture of ages but this is probably the first time the adults in the audience will be the ones being told to stop squealing with excitement. Sorry kids, but this one's for the grown-ups.

Robert: It seems like the universal opinion is that, even if we don't love every single thing Pixar has done, they've built up so much good will, that we couldn't not eagerly anticipate every new movie. What interests me about Toy Story 3 is that there can't be a completely safe happy ending in the same vein as parts 1 and 2 (where everyone ended up back together comfortably in Andy's room). There's sort of a "you can't go home again" vibe. And that is a very grown-up concept.

JA: It did just strike me that I'm probably going to cry at this movie. I'm gonna look over and a five year old little girl is gonna be snickering at me. "Mommy, why's that old man all by himself crying at the cartoon?" Not again!



How about you readers? Are we all happy in the warm embrace of Pixar's track record? Do you agree with Dave's assessment that 11 years was in fact the right amount of time to wait for part 3?

"We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond"
The "orphan" picks Nathaniel (Burlesque), JA (Love and Other Drugs), Jose (You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), Craig (What's Wrong With Virginia?), Robert (True Grit) and Dave (Brighton Rock); Team Film Experience Countdown #12 It's Kind of a Funny Story, #11 Sex & the City 2, #10 Scott Pilgrim vs the World, #9 Somewhere, #8 The Kids Are All Right, #7 The Illusionist, #6 Toy Story 3, #5 Inception, #4 Rabbit Hole, #3 Never Let Me Go, #2 Black Swan and #1 The Tree of Life.
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We Can't Wait: #7 THE ILLUSIONIST

All the way from France and movie heaven, here's the next entry in the We Can't Wait series...



The Illusionist
Directed by: Sylvain Chomet (based on an unfinished screenplay by Jacques Tati)
Synopsis: Details the story of a dying breed of stage entertainer whose thunder is being stolen by emerging rock stars. Forced to accept increasingly obscure assignments in fringe theaters, garden parties and bars, he meets a young fan who changes his life forever.
Brought to you by: Django Films
Expected release date: premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, US release TBA.

Jose: A lot has been made recently about the power of films as means of rebirth; Sylvain Chomet takes this to the extreme and quite literally brings Jacques Tati back from the dead to star in the one film he never got to make. Based on a screenplay the French master wrote, the story follows magician Tatischeff (a character based on Tati himself in the way Mr. Hulot was) as he copes with changing times. I'm torn: is this sacrilegious or completely inspired? As much as I love classic film stars brought back to life and in most cases introduced to younger generations, there is always an element that could go bad and said movie star isn't even here to defend his position anymore.

Nathaniel: I'm never sure about artists riffing on or conjoined with or forcefully grafted to other artists. It's nerve wracking to me as to whether any of those creative chemicals should be paired. Though obviously sometimes it's thrilling (Far From Heaven!) But if anyone can revive Tati, why not a spiritual descendant in dialogue free syncopated visual gags?

Dave: I must confess I've never seen a Tati film (don't hurt me), but this film appeared on my list thanks to the name of Sylvain Chomet alone - The Triplets of Belleville might just be my favourite animated feature of the last ten years, and we live in a Pixar world! The style of animation was so inscrutable, and the lack of dialogue probably puts the majority of people off, but you'd think something like that would be cold and emotionless whereas it was completely the opposite. But then maybe I'm just weird.

Putting dead people back on-screen is a risky proposition, but this isn't Laurence Olivier and we're not in the World of Tomorrow - I've immense faith that Chomet chose to do this with of deep admiration and respect for Tati. Perhaps the young fan in the film reflects Chomet himself? Not that I believe Chomet will be without the smarts to be blindly adoring of his subject - Belleville showed a knack for ironic self-awareness and a macabre playfulness that you just don't get in another animated films.


- Russian trailer for the film -

Jose: Of course! When I remember The Triplets of Belleville I think perhaps Chomet's idiosyncratic (and very French) take on animation will be wonderful paired with Tati's genius for gags. Can you imagine how hard it must've been to animate something like Playtime?

Nathaniel: Strangely given their copyright dates I've seen Playtime far more recently than Belleville so I can't remember if Belleville's visual idiosyncracies are worthy of Tati's brilliance. Playtime is just... gah! But I love ambitious animation.

Dave: Oh, and I do hope we get a song or two. 'Belleville Rendez-Vous' still gets regular play from me. The things you can do with kitchen appliances...

Jose: Well people... is The Illusionist music to your ears or the sound of disaster?

"We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond"
The "orphan" picks Nathaniel (Burlesque), JA (Love and Other Drugs), Jose (You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), Craig (What's Wrong With Virginia?), Robert (True Grit) and Dave (Brighton Rock); Team Film Experience Countdown #12 It's Kind of a Funny Story, #11 Sex & the City 2, #10 Scott Pilgrim vs the World, #9 Somewhere, #8 The Kids Are All Right, #7 The Illusionist, #6 Toy Story 3, #5 Inception, #4 Rabbit Hole, #3 Never Let Me Go, #2 Black SwanThe Tree of Life. and #1
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We Can't Wait #8: THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

If you're just joining us, Nathaniel and Film Experience team are discussing the movies they're most looking forward to this summer and beyond. We've covered the musical Burlesque, Dustin Lance Black's What's Wrong With Virginia?, the Jake & Anne show Love and Other Drugs, Graham Greene adaptation Brighton Rock, Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, The Coen Bros' True Grit, the potential sleeper It's Kind of a Funny Story, the glitzy sequel Sex and the City 2, the epically epic Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Sofia Coppola's Somewhere. Which brings us to this buzzy Sundance hit...

Joni (Mia Wasikowsa) & Laser (Josh Hutcherson) want daddy

The Kids Are All Right
Directed by: Lisa Cholodenko
Starring: Juli, The Bening, Ruff, Ubiquitous Mia and Josh Hutcherson
Synopsis: Laser and Joni have two mommies (Julianne Moore and Annette Bening). They ask to meet their biological father the sperm donor (Mark Ruffalo) and their mothers comply. This requests sets off a chain reaction of drama and comedy as all the family members struggle to redefine their relationships.
Brought to you by: Focus Features who won the bidding war for the film at Sundance
Expected Release Date: July

Nathaniel: This is a strange case for me to include in the We Cant Wait: Summer and Beyond countdown, since I've already seen it. But you two both really want to see it. And in truth, I can't wait to see it again so there you go. We can't wait. The movie is vividly acted, generous to its characters and both funny and dramatic. Y'all are in for a treat though I still fear overhyping something that's the very definition of "small gem". What's the draw for you?

Craig: The main draw for me is Julianne Moore. I'll watch literally anything she's in - I'd willingly crawl the length and breadth of the country to watch her read the dictionary on film! I'd say she fights Jennifer Jason Leigh for top spot of my favourite American actresses working today... Hmmm, Kill Bill 3 with Jules and Jen fighting - I'd willingly crawl the length and breadth of..... you know. Anyway, Moore's not roundly renowned her her comic turns, but I don't think she's actually been that bad in any comedy film, even if the films themselves haven't been, er, quite so good - I'm looking at you Evolution and Laws of Attraction. But thinking back to her performances in The Big Lebowski, Cookie's Fortune and An Ideal Husband, she was really comfortable doing humour - and those three movies varied widely in the funny stakes. I've always thought she should do a Woody Allen film (they should align their schedules one day!) where the comedy would be more observational and based on good one-liners, wit etc - and that feel is what I'm hoping for with The Kids Are All Right, I guess. It's safe to say that both Moore and Annette Bening will have the dramatic elements of Kids covered, too - they can both dash off any number of scenes of intense drama in their sleep. I love the trailer's amiable, easy-going feel, and it's being being sold on a well-balanced comic-tragic dynamic. The "go easy on the wine, hon, it's daytime" - "ok, same goes for the macro-managing," bit, then the teary scene later ("I've just felt so far away from you lately") have my hopes up for a range of varying work from them both.



Jose: I just love that these two goddesses got together. I'd actually refused to see the trailer until yesterday (I obviously loved that it uses Vampire Weekend and Madness) but it kinda confirmed one of my worries: that they will try to sell the movie like another of those so awful "look at how indie and quirky I am" dysfunctional people comedies. I'm sure that this is mostly for marketing reasons and the movie will actually be dark and moody and be more Todd Field then Diablo Cody. Please don't contradict me if I'm wrong Nat. Lie to me...

Nathaniel: You can't handle the truth? Sorry going to give it to ya anyway: The truth is that it's neither of those things. I'm happy to report that I thought not once about Cody or Field while watching it -- both have their place in the world but I really don't need either of them to be their own subgenre of film. This is its own thing. But if you were hoping for dark and moody, er... shift your expectations immediately.


This is much lighter on its feet that Lisa Cholodenko's other commendable efforts (High Art and Laurel Canyon). It's no miserable epic about stifled unhappy women. For that you'll need The Bening's other summer 2010 Oscar pitch (Mother and Child). The Kids... is feel good as in, it feels good to watch it. You smile when you think about it months later as I am doing right now. My cheeks hurt.

Jose: Thank you for ignoring my wishes, that was a pretty truth to handle. You know what I'm talking about, though, right? Indies nowadays are either somber & suicide inducing or falsely clever & annoyingly sarcastic. I'm thrilled this is a horse of a different color and now I'm really dying to see it.

Nathaniel: As some of you may have noticed I wasn't quite as enamored of Julianne Moore's comic turn as I was of The Bening's but I'm happy to report to Fellow Moore Devotee Craig, that some of my critic friends thought Julianne was best in show... so maybe it's just me. For me, Bening just killed in this. And she's super in Mother and Child, too.

The Bening's Oscar Nods: '90 The Grifters, '99 American Beauty,
'04 Being Julia, '10 The Kids Are All Right or Mother & Child ???

I'm not going to be so foolish as to say "it's her year!" because Oscar will undoubtedly find some pretty young thing to obsess over or some "we didn't know you could do it" actress to reward once the time comes. Nevertheless, for the Bening-obsessives out there, this summer will have to rank as the most exciting Bening-specific season since Fall '99 when we first met Carolyn Burnham.

I like to imagine Annette giving herself pep-talks on her way to the promotional circuit for this bipolar summer of hers. "I WILL SELL THIS HOUSE MOVIE TODAY."
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